Living Nightmare
by darkwriter14
Summary: Mai suddenly finds herself torn from SPR and into an orphanage after a neighbor finds her living conditions unfit. But when Mai finds herself surrounded by hauntings in the orphanage, will SPR be able to help...and save Mai in the process?
1. Visitor

I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form...although I wish I did. :)

-------

I yawned and stretched, flexing my arms and making the joints pop. It was a Saturday morning, and I'd finally been able to sleep in. It had been a very relaxing sleep; no freaky prophecies or anything.

_WAIT. SLEEP IN?!?! _I whipped my head around to look at my alarm clock; fully awake now. It was 10:15 a.m. _Oh, no!_ I thought. I jumped out of bed and began hurrying around the room, jumping into some clothes quickly and racing for the bathroom.

_Naru's gonna kill me!_ I groaned as I ran the toothbrush through my mouth once. I rinsed my mouth out and dragged the brush through my tangled hair and stifled yelps as it yanked through knots.

I was running out the door in less than five minutes. _Oh, crap!_ I moaned. _I'm supposed to be there at eight on Saturdays!_

Oh, wait, sorry. In all the mayhem, I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mai Taniyama: a freshman in high school and the secretary at Shibuya Psychic Research—SPR for short. My boss, Kazuya Shibuya (or Naru the Narcissist, as I like to call him) specializes in the field of ghost hunting. I have to say the job gets pretty dangerous sometimes, but I don't think I'd want life any other way.

I was in such a hurry to get out the door that I didn't have time to process that someone was standing right outside my apartment and I catapulted into them. Whoever it was gave an annoyed snort of impatience.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" I gasped. "It's just that I'm in a hurry because I'm late for work and—"

"Are you Mai Taniyama?" the lady asked coolly, ignoring my babbling.

I froze and closed my mouth. "Yes," I replied uncertainly.

I looked the lady up and down. She looked to be as old as Ayako; maybe a little older. She had black hair cropped to her shoulders, and she had a pair of designer sunglasses over her eyes. Her lips, which were formed into a permanent scowl, were pursed thin in annoyance.

"Well, Taniyama, I have to say that you've kind of screwed up as first impressions go," she said scathingly, adjusting her sunglasses.

"Well, can't really do anything now, can I?" I asked with a nervous laugh; running a hand through my short brown hair.

"Well, in your case, you better wish that you _could_." The lady gave a scornful snort.

That pissed me off. "Would you mind telling me who you are and why you're wasting my time?" I snapped, through with being polite. "You're making me even _more _late for work than I already am!"

"Listen, Mai," she said coldly. "I'm Omi Nazuka from the government. It seems that one of your new neighbors has found your living conditions unsuitable for someone your age. I am here for the day to watch you at work and inspect your apartment. Now, if you want to have at least a _prayer_ of staying how you're living now, you better hope that I find your apartment and especially your _work place_ acceptable."

***

I walked into work, trying to ignore Omi who was trailing right behind me like a bloodhound on a scent. "Hey, Naru!" I called. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Tea, Mai!" Naru called icily from his room.

"'Naru'?" Omi repeated, raising an eyebrow at me. She had been peppering me with questions the whole walk here, and I had told her my boss's name was Kazuya Shibuya. Obviously, she was questioning my nickname.

I set my mouth into a hard line. "You can just have a seat there, Nazuka," I said through clenched teeth; indicating the couch.

I stepped into the kitchen, putting a kettle on the stove and trying not to explode over Omi's presence.

"Mai, if that woman doesn't have an appointment, tell her to leave. I don't pay you to sit around chatting all day," Naru said from behind me.

I turned to scowl at him. "For starters, don't sneak up behind me like that; it's creepy. Two, you hardly pay me anything. And three, I wish she _would_ leave!" I glared in Omi's general direction, which happened to be at the wall.

"Stop being disrespectful to your boss, Mai," Naru said in his usual indifferent tone. "And who is she?"

I grit my teeth angrily. "Omi Nazuka. Apparently, someone in my apartment complex found my living conditions 'unsuitable' for a person my age. The government was called, and _she_ was sent down to inspect my apartment and watch me at work." I glared even harder at the plaster wall, wishing I had heat vision that could burn all the way through and into Omi's brain.

Naru leaned against the doorframe, looking into the front office where Omi was sitting on the couch. "So she's going to be here all day?" he said, almost sounding irritated.

"Yes, so can you _please_ try and give me a break today?" I practically begged.

Naru gave me a hard look. "Fine. But that tea better be good."

I sighed in defeat. "Right." I turned to the whistling kettle and reached for a hot-pad.

"And Mai?"

"Yeah?" I turned to face Naru, who was beginning to walk out the door.

"If I'm not mistaken, you will be sent to an orphanage if this woman is unsatisfied, right?" he asked; his face unreadable.

I turned away, trying not to look anywhere besides my hands as I fixed the tea. "Yeah; I will," I replied quietly and trying to deny it inside.

---

Hope you liked it! Read and review please! I'll update at five comments! Be nice; this is my first Ghost Hunt fanfic! :D


	2. Decision

Hey, everyone! Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I'm glad you liked the first chapter!

As said before, I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form.

----------------

"So, do you think we'll take that case we got offered yesterday, Naru?" I asked; trying to stifle the loud silence that filled the room.

Naru, for whatever reason, had decided to do his work in the front office today. He was sitting in a chair at the coffee table; working in the black notebook he always carried around with him. Omi Nazuka seemed to be watching everything with fiery intensity, missing nothing.

Naru looked up at me. "I think we will, actually," he said in his usual indifferent tone.

"Do you want me to call and tell them?" I asked brightly with a smile.

"Yes." Naru paused, as if considering something as I picked up the phone. "Please," he added. Saying it made him look like he was in pain.

I felt my eyes widen in shock for a heartbeat, then quickly masked my face over with the same chipper smile. "Okay!" I dialed the number, my mind whirling. Naru was actually trying to _help_?

My eyes flicked over to Nazuka-san, who was still watching me intently. _Damn. I wish she'd stop staring at me like that,_ I thought in annoyance.

The previous day, a young girl by the name of Maaya Suzumara had shown up at the office requesting our assistance. Apparently, her orphanage, the Minami Home for Orphan Girls, was experiencing paranormal phenomena. Chairs, plates, and all kinds of furniture was thrown around by an unseen force, disembodied voices of girls called for help, and girls disappeared into thin air and were never seen again.

"Hello, is Suzumara-san there?" I asked politely. "I need to speak with her, if that's alright."

"I'm terribly sorry, young lady," the voice on the other end of the line said. "But Suzumara-san disappeared recently. None of us know where she's gone."

My eyes widened in horror. Suzumara-san had fallen victim to the spirits, too?!

"O-oh," I said in a shaky voice. "I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I can just tell you, I guess."

Naru looked up at me, an eyebrow raised slightly in question. Nazuka-san was being as weird as ever and still hadn't taken her eyes off me.

"Okay. Go ahead," the kind, young woman said from the other side of the phone.

"I'm Taniyma-san from Shibuya Psychic Research, and Suzumara-san visited us just yesterday and told us about the spiritual phenomena you're experiencing at your orphanage. We have decided to take your case, and we're wondering when you'd like us to come investigate."

"Oh!" she said in surprise. "Right, of course! Um, you could come this weekend if you would like. Friday at noon."

"Yes, alright," I replied, writing down the date in the planner. "We'll need a room for research and a couple rooms for us to stay in. Could that be arranged?"

"Yes."

"And I'll need to know your name."

"Oh! Okay. I'm Kaori Tai; I'm the secretary here."

I wrote down her name next to the date. "Alright, that's all I need! We'll see you then!"

"Thank you very much!" Tai-san said, and hung up.

I took another minute to transfer the address of the orphanage that Suzumara-san had left yesterday to the planner, too. Then I stood up and smiled at Naru. "All taken care of! She said she'll see us on Friday at noon. I'll call the others!"

By the others, I meant the priest John Brown, the monk Takigawa Houshou, the shrine maiden Ayako Matsuzaki, and the medium Masako Hara. They weren't part of the SPR team, but they usually came and helped us on cases.

After calling them, I turned to Naru. He hadn't asked for tea for a while. Come to think of it, he hadn't asked for tea since this morning when I'd first walked in. Weird. "Hey, Naru, can I get you any tea?" I asked cheerily.

"Yes, please." There it was…that 'please' again. Seriously, he didn't have to try _that_ hard to help. It just made him look like he was being stabbed in the gut or something.

"Would you like some tea too, Nazuka-san?" I questioned politely, turning unwillingly to look at her.

"Yes."

I got up and walked to the kitchen, feeling eyes on my back the whole way there. Why couldn't stupid Omi Nazuka _stop_ that?!

As I made the tea, I puzzled over the new case. It was weird that Suzumara-san had disappeared right after appealing to us. Would _more_ girls disappear once we arrived there?

I walked out with the tea, and I noticed Nazuka-san staring at Naru with narrowed eyes. Freak. "Here's your tea!" I said, setting down a cup in front of Naru and Nazuka-san.

"It took you long enough to offer me a drink," Nazuka-san muttered accusingly.

I ignored her and went back to my desk and looked at the clock. It was almost two p.m. "Hey, Naru! We have an appointment in one hour."

"Fine." Realizing that wasn't polite enough to treat an assistant, he added "thank you" and managed to look like he had a very bad toothache.

Nazuka-san set down her teacup with a loud clatter and stood. I glanced at her; startled. Naru looked over at her expressionlessly.

"I think I've seen enough, and I assure you, I don't find what I've seen agreeable," she said coolly. "Taniyama-san, you are unfit to be living on your own."

"What?!" I shouted, shocked. I jumped to my feet, the chair I had been sitting on flying back behind me. "No! I'm doing _just_ fine!"

"I beg to differ, Taniyama-san," the cold lady said.

"Nazuka-san, if I may," Naru said calmly, slowly standing up. "Mai is always working hard, and I find her living conditions perfectly normal."

_What? Naru's never been in my apartment!_ I thought in confusion. Oh. Wait. The SPR Halloween party. Right; he'd come to my house then.

"Not to be rude, but I don't really care for your opinion," Omi said. "I don't care what _anyone_ says or thinks. Mai Taniyama will be taken into custody."

"You can't do this!" I yelled at her. I was near tears; my life would be _over_ if I had to leave this life behind! I couldn't leave SPR! I couldn't leave my friends! I didn't want to leave Naru! Sure, he was a narcissist jerk most of the time, but I didn't care!

"On the contrary; I _can_," she said with a cruel smile. She turned and began to stroll for the door. "By tomorrow morning I expect your apartment to be cleaned and your job quit. I will come take you away at eight."

"No! Please!" My voice had reduced to a pleading whisper. The door clicked, and Omi Nazuka was gone.

The tears brimmed full in my eyes. Not wanting to face the world, I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. I curled up on the tiled floor and began to sob.

"Mai!" Naru called from outside the room, but I didn't answer. Sure enough, after a few moments, I heard him leave.

I buried my head in my arms as far as I could. What had I done to deserve this?

------------------

Okay! Hoped you liked the second chapter! Oh, and in case you noticed, I started using the surnames. I would have used them in the first chapter, but I didn't understand them yet. But I read about it and now I know! :) I'll move it up to seven reviews for an update!


	3. Taken

Hey, everyone! Once again, thanks for all the nice reviews! It helps a lot! Anyway, here's chapter 3!

(And once again, I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form!)

--------

I sat on my curb, my three small suitcases sitting around me. I stared blankly out at the street, trying not to think about the empty apartment up and back of me. I had a hard time believing this was real life; how could it be? My eyes filled with moisture every time I began to think about Bou-san, Ayako, Masako, Brown-san, and even Lin-san and Naru. What would Naru tell them? Would he care enough to explain at all?

Fresh tears lined my eyes as I considered the possibility that he didn't care that I was being forced to leave_. But he did try and help yesterday_, I thought; trying to convince myself. Then again, I didn't see him coming to see me off and make sure I would be all right.

Now a couple tears were streaming down my cheeks_._ Why couldn't Naru care about me? Why didn't he come? He'd heard what time stupid Nazuka-san would come to get me!_ Damn_! I thought, shoving my fist against my mouth so I wouldn't start sobbing_. Why should that matter at all right now? I would just be grateful if this was all a dream_!

A sleek black Mercedes pulled up against the sidewalk, and the passenger window unrolled. "Get in, Taniyama-san," she said in her usual withering tone.

Choking back a sob, I threw my stuff in the trunk and climbed into the backseat of the car, not wanting to sit right next to the woman. I put on my seat belt, and stared out the tinted windows as we pulled away from the curb_. Good-bye, everyone_, I choked.

The car suddenly lurched to a stop as Nazuka-san stomped on the brake. "What the HELL?!" she yelled furiously.

I curiously looked out the windshield to see what had made her stop. I saw a van sitting horizontally in the road; blocking our path. _Wait. That van...I know it from somewhere..._

Nazuka-san flung her door open and stormed out, screaming at the top of her lungs. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, YOU ASSHOLE?!" she shrieked, waving her arms in the air.

"What did it look like? I was stopping you," said a familiar expressionless, arrogant voice.

I practically flew out of the car and nearly strangled myself in the process when I forgot I was wearing a seatbelt. _NARU!!!_

Naru was standing, arms folded, in front of Nazuka-san. Nazuka-san was staring at him lividly, icy fire spewing from her eyes. Naru just looked at her with a flat expression and a hard edge to his eyes.

"Naru!" I cried joyfully, flying at him. Seeing as I probably wouldn't see him again and therefore wouldn't have to face embarassment for my actions, I flung my arms around him.

Naru seemed to hesitate a moment, then touched my arm awkwardly...the closest thing to a hug I'd ever get from him. "Hi, Mai," he said. "Where are you taking her?" he asked Nazuka-san.

I shifted my head to see her reaction. Her lips pressed into a very thin line, and she adjusted her stupid sunglasses. "That is not for you to know," she said.

"It isn't?" Naru asked stonily. I looked up at him, and saw that he looked kind of pissed.

"No, it's not."

"Why not?"

She folded her arms, her tone scathing. "You're not a relative. Why would you need to know?"

"So that means I don't have a right to know?" Naru asked in a deadly tone. "Really, your methods are strange."

Nazuka-san had had enough. "Taniyama-san, get in the car RIGHT NOW or so help me, I'll take you to so many orphanages your boss will NEVER be able to find you!"

I clung to Naru tighter, refusing to let go. Naru put his hand on my shoulder in response. I felt tears pricking my eyes again.

"I am 100% serious with that threat, Taniyama-san!" she threatened.

The tears began to fall down my face and I buried my head in Naru's shirt. "I don't want to go!" I said hoarsely to him.

"I know you don't."

I bit my lip as the hot tears flowed faster.

"TANIYAMA-SAN!" the moron screeched.

"Mai," Naru said quietly.

I pulled my head back to look up at him, my cheeks wet.

"It'll be okay, Mai," Naru murmured, staring down at me.

"I don't believe that!" I whispered, shaking my head.

Before he could reply, Nazuka-san had grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Naru. "Come _on_, you stupid little brat!" she snarled.

I turned my head to look at Naru, and saw him glaring at Nazuka-san with hate-filled eyes.

Without thinking, I yelled, "I love you, Naru!" Nazuka-san's grip tightened on my arm and she yanked me forward sharply.

Naru's eyes widened uncharacteristically in surprise, and all the traces of anger and hate left his face.

Nazuka-san shoved me into the backseat and stalked quickly to her door. She slammed it behind her as she climbed in, and she turned around to give me a horrifying glare. "You'll be lucky if I don't ship you off to Iceland in one second!" she snarled savagely.

I bit my lip and stared out the window. Naru was still standing there.

Nazuka-san stomped on the gas pedal, and she swerved around the van, nearly missing it and a mailbox by mere inches. I was flung all over the backseat because I didn't have my seatbelt on yet.

"Where are you taking me?" I whimpered as I clicked the seatbelt into place. I wiped at the tears in my eyes.

"The Minami Home for Orphan Girls!" she snapped. "Now shut up before I act upon my second threat!"

I froze in place, terror ripping through me. The Minami Home for Orphan Girls?!

----------

Woohoo! Chapter 3 is finished!!! Urgh, I really HATE Nazuka-san!!! Almost all the reviews I get say how much they hate her, and I couldn't agree more!!! As usual, read and review, please!!! Let's leave the update requirement at ten reviews, though; I'm dying to give you the next chapter!!!


	4. Shattered

What's up, guys? As usual, I must thank you for all the nice reviews that were made and thank you for reading!

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

----------

Naru slammed the office door shut behind him. Lin-san, who had returned after his previous sick day, stopped typing to look up in confusion. "Naru?" he asked quizically.

Naru ignored him momentarily and stalked silently into the kitchen; seething uncontrollably inwardly. He filled the tea kettle with water and dropped it roughly onto the stove; twisting the knob to turn it on. He yanked open the cupboard and pulled out the box of his favorite tea.

"Naru, what are you doing?" Lin-san asked from the doorway. He watched Naru's actions in confusion, and suddenly realized that Taniyama-san had probably roped Naru into some bet that he couldn't make his own tea. "Okay; what did Taniyama-san do to pull you into _this_ bet?" Lin-san asked with a faint chuckle.

Naru turned and gave him a stony-faced glare.

Lin-san sighed. "Really, Naru. You don't have to overreact over some silly bet Taniyama-san made with you."

Naru turned away, looking at the whistling kettle. "Don't be ridiculous, Lin," he said frostily.

Lin-san gave a frustrated noise. "Naru, really! Whenever you're around Mai she always make you behave like a child! You should learn--"

"Lin," Naru interrupted him. Lin-san stopped and waited expectantly as Naru poured hot water into his teacup. After a few moments of silence and looking into his teacup, Naru spoke again. "You don't have to worry about that any more."

Lin-san snorted impatiently. "Naru, you can't just change your attitude in a day."

Naru gave him a harder glare than before. "Lin. This is not for a bet, and I am not angry at Mai."

Lin-san became very confused; even more so than before. "Then why are you making your own tea?"

The angry boy picked up his teacup and looked into the swirling liquid. "Because Mai's gone," he said in a low voice.

Lin-san blinked; startled. "What? Why? Did she leave?"

"No. The government took her away because they found her living conditions unfit for someone as young as she is." Naru moved the teacup to his lips and took a sip. Lin-san noticed him grimace at something as the tea touched his tongue.

The Chinese man couldn't move. No wonder Naru was in such a bad mood. "Where did they take her?" he asked as calmly as he could manage.

"The woman refused to tell me," Naru said. Disgust and fury colored his tone.

"Why? Don't people close to her have a right to know?"

Naru froze and stared down into the depths of the dark brown liquid in his teacup. If she had said she loved him, didn't that mean that she was close to him? Didn't that give him a right? A surprising pain filled his chest, and Naru winced. _Damn. I can't make good tea anymore,_ Naru thought bitterly. _That must be it._

If Mai were there, she would have made the best tea for him. Even though he wouldn't thank her for it, she would have brought it in cheerfully with a smile on her face. And even if Naru would have gotten on her nerves, she would still give him tea. If Mai were there, he'd bee in a good mood. If Mai were there, the office would be a brighter place.

Naru continued to stare into his tea, fury and rage boiling inside him as he thought of the rude government woman Omi Nazuka. He recalled Mai clinging to him and refusing to let go; Nazuka-san screaming threats at her and finally dragging her roughly and shoving her into the Mercedes. The memory made his blood boil; made him even angrier than the time when he had been investigating the old school house at Mai's school and made a complete mistake.

After a few more seconds of silently staring into the awful dark tea, Naru let go of the cup.

"Naru!" Lin-san shouted in alarm.

The china cup seemed to take forever to reach the linoleum floor; the tea sloshing everywhere as the cup descended and began to twist. Mid-twist, it hit the white tile and splintered into a thousand sharp, tiny slivers all over the tea-covered floor.

---------

Okay, I just HAD to have this in here! I hope Naru remained in character! Urgh, I'm sick with worry!!! Review, please! Let's bump up the update requirement to twelve, shall we? I'm POSITVE we can reach that number! I want to update; I'm dying here! XP


	5. Chills

Hello again!!! Okay, I think I was pushing it with twelve reviews...it was very cruel...for the readers AND for the author. So, I have decided: to HELL with the review requirements. I hated them anyway...don't know why I started them in the first place....

----------

I stared gloomily out the crystal-clear, rain-streaked window of an orphanage living room. Girls about my age whispered inaudible words behind me, but I paid no attention to them. I didn't care about them, and I didn't really want to hear what they were talking about. All I wanted to do was go back home and see my friends! Images of them--mostly Naru--kept creeping into my mind that would make my chest constrict and suffocate me. My heart ached to be away from here, and my head hurt from all the tears that I had cried.

I'd already been here for four days--it was now a Wednesday-- and things weren't getting any better. I still hated the almost-like-Mom-used-to-make meals, the creaky twin beds, and the wide, eerie hallways. I had nightmares every night, but each time I woke, I could never remember what they were about. To top it all off, I cried at least once _every damned day_. I couldn't stand it here.

Strangely--and maybe a plus--no paranormal activity had occurred yet here. I had heard no disembodied girls' voices, and nobody had disappeared. It was odd...could it all have been some elaborate prank that they were all in on?

Suddenly, it clicked: Naru and the others were coming to investigate this weekend.

I nearly jumped out the roof in excitement and joy. _They're coming! Naru's coming! They're coming! Naru's coming! _I screamed excitedly in my head.

I was so excited, I just HAD to call and tell them! When I'd first gotten here, I'd searched my floor of the orphanage for a phone to use, but I'd found none. Then I'd been too dejected to go and look for one, so I hadn't tried again yet. Now was the perfect opportunity to search again!

I sat for a few moments, reasoning. I had called here and talked to the secretary, so there had to be a phone around here somewhere. In the reception area, or around there, maybe.

I looked up and called to the girl closest to me. "Hey! Do you know where the nearest phone is? Or maybe the reception area?" I asked.

The girl, who had wavy gold hair and bright blue eyes, gave me a look. "Why do _you_ want to know?" she asked. "Do you _want_ to get in trouble?"

I looked at her in confusion. "Trouble?" I repeated.

The girl sighed in exasperation. "Maybe she doesn't know, Tomomi!" one of her friends whispered.

"Maybe so, but you'd think it would be common sense in the first place!" Tomomi snorted, tossing her hair. "Listen, new kid!" she snapepd at me. "Using the phones is off-limits."

I stared at her, mystified. "Why?"

Tomomi gave a frustrated sound, and put a hand to her forehead. "You _have_ heardthe stories, right? About this place being haunted?"

I nodded quickly. "Yeah. Of course."

"So you're not a total loss after all. Anyway, every time a girl here does something without asking--using the phone, for example--they disappear."

I reeled back in shock. "What?! How'd you find _that_ out?!"

She shrugged. "Well, I wasn't here when they first discovered it, but I've heard the story. One morning, a girl here who had a brother that had been taken to a different orphanage, wanted to call him. She found a phone, and used it."

"Did she talk to him?"I asked.

Tomomi gave me a weird look. "Yeah, but that hardly matters. What really matters is that the morning after she called him, she found long, bloody gashes on her back. In the hallway outside her room, the sentence 'Good girls will obey all rules' was found written in red, dripping blood." Her eyes flashed ominously.

I let out a gasp and cringed. What a horrible story!

"And that's not all," she continued, her voice still dark and bleak. "The blood on the walls was tested, and it matched the girl's blood _exactly_."

"Did she write it herself?" I asked in a trembling voice.

Tomomi shook her head. "No. Her fingers were spotless. And then, not realizing why it had happened, the girl called her brother again. The morning afterwards, she was found dead in her bed with large slits going all the way down the undersides of her arms."

I trembled and clenched my eyes shut tightly. _Damn! I wish I could call Naru and tell him about what I just found out!_ "Do you know of any other incidents?" I asked, opening my eyes to look at her. I tried desperately to keep a tremor of fear out of my voice.

"What are you, an investigator?" Tomomi snorted. "Yeah, of course! How else would we have established the rules here?"

I took a deep breath. _I _used_ to help with investigations,_ I thought gloomily. "What else happened?"

"Well, a different girl lost one of her belongings...a precious heirloom from her deceased mother, I think. So, you can imagine that she would be pretty worked up. She looked up and down for it on her floor, but she couldn't find it. She finally decided to go look around in the closets in the reception area, and when she was standing in one, the closet door slammed shut on her. She felt hands strangling her throat, and she couldn't call for help. Later, she was found unconscious on the floor of the closet. The bruises on her neck formed the same sentence as the incident before: 'Good girls will obey all rules'."

I unconsciously lifted a hand to my throat.

Tomomi's voice dropped even lower. "A week later, the girl went looking in the basement for her heirloom. Everybody else was up here; minding their own business, when there was an awful scream. They went down and found a bruise from a sharp rock right between her dead, distant eyes."

She straightened up. "And the violence and terror continues on," she said. "Every month, at least three people are badly injured or disappear."

Uncontrollable shivers racked my body. Fear gripped my mind; froze me in place. What was going on here? What if I accidentally did something wrong and I was next?!

-------------

Oooh, this chapter gave me chills to write!!! Reviews are VERY welcome, although (like I said above) I've gotten rid of review requirements. It was for the sake of my sanity that I did.... :D


	6. Considered

Hola, Bonjour, Hello, Guttentag, etc.! Already, it's to Chapter 6! And I REALLY wish I could keep replying to all your wonderful comments! There's just so many (which makes me happy!). So I'd like to thank you all from here for all your nice reviews!

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

----------

"WHAT?!" the priestess, monk and exorcist exclaimed. The ever-quiet medium Masako Hara covered her mouth with her komono sleeve and gasped; eyes widening.

Bou-san jumped to his feet and slammed his hands down on top of the table. "This is sick! Why don't we just go and take her away? Ayako or I could adopt her or something, if it helped!" Ayako nodded in agreement, her eyed wide in shock.

"Unfortunately, the woman--Omi Nazuka--refused to tell me where she was taking Mai. Lin and I checked Mai's apartment for any hint or clue as to where she is, but found nothing." Naru's eyes hardened just the tiniest bit. It was so tiny, nobody would ever notice.

Lin-san, listening from the other room, recalled the nigh two days ago when he and Naru had gone to Mai's apartment. If they had been able to find something of Mai's, they would have been able to find her easily. Sadly, her apartment had been totally barren of anything of Mai's. Her couch sat collecting dust, and her remote-less TV sat unwatched in the corner. On the outside, Naru had been calm and indifferent when they saw these things, but Lin-san knew that he had been completely furious and frustrated.

"Couldn't we call all the orphanages and look for her?" John asked, concern coloring his voice.

Bou-san sighed angrily. "Yeah, but just think about all the files they would have to search through! We don't even know if Mai's file's been shelved yet! The secretaries definitely don't know the names of all the kids, so they wouldn't be able to just tell us, either."

The air was instantly heavy and gloomy with this logic. They all sat in silent despair, hoping that there was a solution that they just couldn't see yet.

"So...will we still be doing the case that Mai called about?" Ayako asked finally, needing something else to think about.

Naru stood up from his seat and walked over to the window silently. They all watched him, waiting for an answer. "I don't know," he finally replied.

After another stretch of silence, Masako spoke up. "Our case is at an orphanage, right?"

Naru turned and looked at her. "Yes, it is," he answered slowly.

"Well, if we continue on with the case, there is a small chance that Mai would be there."

***

I woke up to the sound of relentless screams. I jerked out of bed and ran down the hall, finding a crowd of girls around a door.

"What's going on?" I asked and ran up to them.

A girl turned to me; her eyes wide with fear. "It's Fuyumi! She's dead!" she exclaimed.

I gasped and began pushing my way through the crowd. Nobody objected or shoved me, and when I came to the front of the crowd and was looking into the room, what I saw took away my breath.

The girl named Fuyumi lay in a pool of blood in her bed. Her mouth was open, and that was where the blood seemed to be coming from. I couldn't see her chin at all through the flow of blood. Up above her bed, the sentence "Good girls will obey all rules" was written with fresh, dripping blood.

I stayed rooted to the spot, unable to move.

"She coughed up some blood the other day, but I didn't think it would be this serious!" someone shouted fearfully. My ears buzzed with the babble of many terrified voices.

"Make way, make way!" a loud female voice suddenly spoke up over the girls. "Let me see her!"

A middle-aged lady suddenly appeared through the throng of people. It must have been the owner, Minori Sasaki.

"Excuse me, dear," she said, shoving past me.

I watched as she hovered over Fuyumi, and began to shiver in fear. Why did things like this keep happening? _Hurry, Naru! _I thought, squeezing my eyes shut tight. _Come figure out what's going on here!_

-------------

Okay, I know this chapter is shorter than usual. But, to make up for that, I will write the 7th chapter today and hopefully post it today! As usual, read and review, please! :)


	7. Reunion

Yay! Here comes Chapter 7!!! Two in one day; I can't believe it!!! :D

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

-----------

I wiped at my foggy, sleep-deprived eyes. After what had happened last night, I hadn't been able to sleep a wink. I felt as heavy as lead, and just keeping my eyes open presented a challenge. Anything I began thinking about almost immediately flew out the window and I began thinking about something else. In other words, I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't remember what day it was, and I could barely remember why I wanted to know what day it was.

I laid my head down on the breakfast table and closed my eyes. If I slept just a couple of hours, maybe it would make me more coherent.

I heard a commotion starting, but I didn't pay attention. _Just...a few...minutes,_ I thought sleepily.

I woke up with someone roughly shaking my shoulder. "Mai! Mai!" someone called.

I groaned and peeled open my eyes. I recognized a girl from my hall standing over me and shaking my shoulder. "What?" I asked groggily.

"You've slept nearly the whole day! Gosh, you sleep really deeply! Anyway, you're the last person!"

I sighed and sat up, rubbing my eyes and trying to take away the sleep. "Last person for _what_?" I asked irritably.

"To be interviewed!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "Get up, you lazy ass! They need to get their work done!"

_Who does?_ I thought tiredly as she hauled me through halls, up a staircase, and in front of a door. "Just go in and answer any questions he asks. It won't take that long!" the girl said before disappearing down the hall.

I yawned tiredly and tried to wake myself up a little before pushing open the door. "Sorry if I slowed down your work," I said thickly, trying not to yawn again. I made myself open my eyes wider so I could look at the people in the room.

I was wide awake instantly, and the look on the boy's face in front of me was enough to make me scream for joy. For once his emotion was easy to interpret because of his wide, dark blue eyes. "NARU!" I cried ecstatically and flew at him.

"Took you long enough," he muttered. At least he didn't try to remove my arms from their locked positing around his waist.

"I missed you!" I said, ignoring his comment and happy that this wasn't just another wishful dream. "How long have you been here for?" I asked.

"Almost three hours. And you can let go, Mai. I'm not going anywhere."

"Sorry. I can't just yet," I said. I couldn't bring myself to; I was too happy.

Naru sighed, but didn't push me away. He put his hand on my arm.

"Where's everybody else?" I asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, Lin's over there," Naru said, nodding in his direction.

"Hi, Lin!" I called, twisting my head around to look at him and still refusing to detach myself from my hold on Naru.

Lin just grunted. I _did_ think I saw the ghost of a smile on his mouth, though.

I looked up at Naru, still wondering about the others.

"Matsuzaki-san, Hara-san, and Bou-san are still looking around," he continued. "And John is...taking down temperatures." Naru seemed hesitant saying what John was doing. He looked down at me, and I looked up at him quizically.

"MAI TANIYAMA, YOU GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" a familiar voice shouted from the doorway.

"AYAKO!" I yelled, finally releasing Naru and running over to give the priestess a hug.

"I was so upset, Mai!" she said, tears in her voice.

"I missed you so much!" I choked, backing up so I could look at her.

"MAI!"

I was suddenly being spun and squished to death by a very happy monk. "Monk!" I choked out, barely able to breathe.

"You stupid monk! Stop squishing her and spinning her like that!!! You're going to make her sick!" Ayako said, trying to sound angry but only managing to sound extremely happy.

John and Masako walked in, surprised looks on their faces. "John! Masako!" I yelled.

John gave a wide smile, and Masako covered her mouth with her kimono sleeve.

"Can you put me down for a second, Bou-san?" I asked.

He put me down, and I ran over to give John and Masako hugs.

After the reunions, I stepped back and looked at all of them happily. It was already about three p.m., and strong afternoon sunlight streamed in through the windows.

"Do you mind if I stay here for a while?" I asked Naru, turning to look at him.

"No," Naru said after a moment. He looked at me, then began looking through his notes.

I happily settled down on the couch in between Bou-san and Ayako. "So, have you been getting a lot of information?" I asked Naru.

"Yes, but I need to go over it," he replied, sitting down in his chair and opening his notebook.

"Okay! I could always help you guys if you ever needed it while you're here!" I piped up, hoping that they would want it at some point.

"Well, if you have another one of your prophetic dreams, that would definitely help!" Bou-san said with a grin.

I smiled and laughed. "Right! I haven't had one yet; sorry! If I do, I'll be sure to tell you!"

Ayako seemed to notice something and narrowed her eyes, peering closer at me. "Speaking of sleep, you look exhausted. What happened? Didn't you sleep last night?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No. Not after seeing that girl like that."

"Huh?" she asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

After explaining to her, she gave a shiver. "Please be careful, Mai," she said, pulling me into a hug.

"Yes, Taniyama-san. Please be careful," John said.

"Don't worry, I will!" A yawn suddenly found it's way into my mouth, and I tried to keep my eyes wide open.

"I think you need to go get some sleep, Mai," Bou-san suggested, glancing at me.

"Yes. You look awfully tired," Masako said from behind her kimono sleeve.

"Can I come back later?" I asked anxiously, looking over at Naru.

"Yes, Mai," Naru said without looking up. "Go sleep."

I smiled, my eyelids getting heavy once more. "Thanks. See you later, guys!" I said and headed out the door.

I went up the stairs, for once feelings happy in about the last week. I was just happy to know that I would be able to see the others when I woke up.

Girls were standing around talking in the halls...probably about the SPR team being here. Some of them sounded excited, and others were worried that they wouldn't solve the case. I just caught snippets, but I didn't pay much attention.

I was suddenly overtaken by a horrible pain in my chest. It felt like somebody was digging a knife into my heart and twisting roughly. It hurt so much, I couldn't breathe; couldn't move; couldn't talk. What was happening?!

A chill crawled quickly over me, and I was suddenly thrown backwards. My head snapped back against the sharp edge of the banister, and black splotches began to quickly dot and cover my vision. My hearing was fuzzy, and I barely heard the cries of horror that had come from the girls surrounding me. Before passing out, though, I heard one clear, chilling sentence whispered in my ear by a hoarse, snarling voice:

"Good girls will obey all rules!"

------------

Oh my gosh, this was so fun--and creepy--to write! Hope you enjoyed it!!! Read and review, please!!! :D


	8. Surrounded

I feel like it's really picking up here! I'm really enjoying this, and hopefully you all are, too! Thanks for all the fabulous reviews!!! ;D

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

-----------

"...because she told Ayako-chan about what happened last night?" somebody--Bou-san, I think--said.

I pushed my way through the heavy fog of sleep the clouded my mind and into awareness. I recognized the strong smell of antibacterial chemicals, and the annoying beep of a heart monitor. There was a slight pressure on my left index finger, and I assumed that it was monitoring my heart. I was in a hosiptal.

"Maybe," I heard Ayako say. She was so distraught-sounding, she didn't seem to notice or care how Bou-san had called her "-chan".

I fought against my heavy eyelids, trying to open them. I couldn't seem to get them open just yet.

"I have to disagree," Masako said.

"I agree with Hara-san," John remarked.

"Why is that?" Akyako asked.

I listened as I tried to push open my eyes. Multi-tasking didn't seem to be working well at the moment, because it only made it harder to try and open my eyes as I listened to them.

"Because she was one in many," I heard a familiar narcisstic voice say.

I let myself rest for a moment as I realized that Naru was here and close to my bed. Why was he here and not at the orphanage? Hell, why was I even _in_ here?

"One in many what?" Bou-san asked.

"Testifiers. Mai wasn't the only one who told us about things that had happened there and what happened the previous night, but none of the other girls was injured."

"That _does_ make sense," John consented.

At that moment, I was finally able to flutter my eyelids open. I was in a darkening hospital room totally done in white. The white linoleum tiles were squeaky clean, the walls were white, and the cupboards were white. All of the SPR team--excluding Lin-san--was seated somehow around the room.

I shifted slightly, and the movement made my head ache terribly. "Ungh," I groaned quietly.

"Mai?! Are you awake, Mai?!" Ayako started yelling after a moment of silence.

"Mai! Finally, you're awake!" Bou-san shouted.

Their yells hurt my head. "Stop yelling," I muttered.

"Mai," Naru said quietly. At least _someone_ wasn't yelling. Before I could turn my head to look at him, his face was suddenly close to mine, and I could see his eyes clearly. I could have been delirious, but he almost looked relieved. "How do you feel?" he asked.

I suddenly remembered my outflung statement to Naru while being shoved into stupid Nazuka-san's car; the one where I'd said that I loved him. What a terrible moment to recall something like that. My cheeks flushed, and I rushed to answer. "Like my head weighs a ton," I replied aggravatedly, closing my eyes so that it would maybe help with my state of mind from Naru.

I heard Naru pull away, and I opened my eyes again. "Why am I in here?" I asked.

"You remember, don't you?" Masako asked.

I started nodding but winced when it felt like my brain was being knocked around inside my skull. "Yeah, but what happened with _you_ guys? How did I get here?"

"Shortly after you left, a girl came running in screaming that another girl had just been attacked," John began. "We rushed out, hoping to see the scene of the accident, and we found _you_ there."

"Really, Mai, you scared the hell out of us!" Bou-san said, running a hand through his hair.

_Nothing _ever_ scares Naru. He probably wasn't scared_, I thought with an inward sigh.

"Why?" I asked. "I was just knocked out! That's no big deal!"

"No big deal?!" Ayako shouted histarically. "You were knocked out _in a pool of your own damn blood_ and you call that no big deal?!"

"Blood?" I repeated in confusion. "From where?"

"You've got a pretty nice slice on the back of your head," Bou-san told me.

That would explain the pressure going around my head; it was a bandage. "J-just from hitting my head?" I asked.

"The banister was very sharp. You must've hit it very hard for there to be so much damage," Naru explained from beside me. I wanted to turn my head and look at him, but it would make me dizzy.

"How deep was it?" I asked weakly.

"Deep. You're lucky your skull wasn't fractured," Ayako said. She suddenly sounded exhausted and distraught. "Besides your nasty cut, you have a concussion. The doctor was even worried that you would go into a comatose state."

I closed my eyes, trying to take all this in. Apparently, it was worse than I thought. I opened them again, and looked around at all of them gratefully. I noticed that they had dark circles under their eyes. "Didn't you sleep?" I asked in disapproval.

"Not much," Masako said. I couldn't tell if she was annoyed by that or not.

"Like Bou-san said, you had us pretty worried," John said compassionately.

Seeing how much they cared about me made me want to cry. I quickly blinked away the tears, not wanting to give myself an even worse headache than I already had by crying. "Thanks, you guys," I whispered hoarsely.

"If only you didn't worry us so much," Bou-san said playfully.

"No teasing the injured girl!" I objected feebly, closing my eyes again.

"Just rest, Mai. We're right here," Naru said quietly.

I felt myself relax, and I fell back to sleep surrounded by my friends and Naru sitting beside me.

----------------

Awww, I liked this chapter! Read and review, please! :D


	9. Watched

It's already to Chapter 9! Whoa! Once again, thanks for all the wonderful reviews, and here's the 9th chapter!

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

----------------------

"So why do you think the spirit attacked me?" I asked.

Naru, Ayako, Bou-san and I were all riding in the van back to the orphanage. After two nights at the hospital, I was told to return to the orphanage and go on bed rest. Right now it felt like my brain was knocking around in my skull.

"From all the data we achieved from interviewing the girls at the orphanage, it seems like you would have broken some sort of unsaid rule," Naru replied from up front.

"Hmm..." I said vaguely, trying to figure what 'rule' I could have possibly broken. "Well...I _did_ fall asleep at 10 a.m. the day you guys came. Maybe that's why."

"It seems possible," Bou-san remarked.

"So then...would it attack me while I'm on bed rest?" I asked, wincing as we passed over a pot hole in the road.

"I highly doubt it," Naru said. "But just to be safe, we'll keep someone from the team close by you at all times."

I sighed quietly. "Okay."

There was silence in the car for a few minutes. Finally, Bou-san spoke up. "Do you wanna tell us what happened when you got knocked into the banister?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Sure," I consented with a sigh. "It's been bugging me, anyway."

"So, what happened?" Ayako asked.

Bou-san twisted around from his seat up front to look at me.

I relayed the story to them, and shuddered when I came to the voice part. "It was the same sentence that keeps turning up: 'Good girls will obey all rules'," I finished.

There was more silence as they considered everything I had told them. "So that was the only voice you heard clearly?" Bou-san clarified.

"Yeah." I shivered, and tried not to grit my teeth when we passed over another bump in the road.

"What kind of spirit do you think it is?" Ayako asked.

Naru was silent with his own thoughts, but Bou-san spoke. "Maybe, considering that sentence, it's a spirit that used to live there that had some sort of power over people. That would explain the violence used when girls 'disobey'."

Ayako nodded, staring out the window.

"It sounds possible," Naru murmured.

***

I suddenly found myself out in the moonlit yard of the orphanage. _What am I doing out here at this time of night?_ I thought. _Aren't I supposed to be in bed?_

Some sounds caught my ears, and I began to make my way towards them. There were no lights on the orphanage, so I had to be careful where I stepped with only moonlight and starlight to guide me.

"What's wrong with you?! You're leading us further and further into debt!" I heard someone yelling.

"Yeah! With the way that you're doing things, it's only a matter of time before we go bankrupt!" another person shouted.

_Who are they yelling at?_ I wondered. This must have been a dream; it had that feel about it. But somehow...something seemed _wrong_...it didn't feel right.

I came around a corner, and saw people surrounding a defiant, calm-looking woman. Her back was to the orphanage wall, and they were all staring at her with murderous glares. One man near the front held a gun that was pointed at her head.

"So you're blaming _me_ for what's happening to the city, is that right?" she asked arrogantly.

"Damn right we are!" yelled the man with the gun. "Everything you do for this city is for yourself, you pathetic excuse for a mayor!"

_What has she done? _I thought in confusion.

"So I assume you're here to fix your little problem?" she said sweetly.

"Yeah. _You_!" the man with the gun yelled. There was a blast and a crack from the gun, and the woman dropped dead to the ground.

I woke up panting and jerked upright in bed. The movement made me head spin and made me feel like my skull was being rattled. I sat for a moment and let the pain pass, then looked over to where Ayako had been earlier. She was gone...probably to the bathroom or something.

I carefully laid back down on the bed and tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. It was impossible to get the dream out of my head...I had to tell Naru and see what he thought of it.

I sat up slowly and gingerly slid off the bed. I made my way out the door and down the hall; going slowly so I wouldn't bother my head so much.

When I came to the stairs, I was presented with a problem. If I wasn't even supposed to walk, how would it feel to try going down the stairs? When we had arrived here, I had to be carried up the stairs by Bou-san. I hesitated and looked down the stairs, deliberating.

"Mai, what are you doing?" a familiar voice asked. He sounded annoyed or angry--I couldn't tell which. "You're supposed to be in bed!"

Naru, who must have been passing the staircase, was looking up at me from the lower level with a scowl on his face.

"Oh, Naru! I was just about to look for you!" I exclaimed. "I had a dream!"

Naru began climbing the stairs. "I'll listen to it when you sit down," he said in disapproval. "You're not even supposed to be walking."

I sat down on a nearby chair and told Naru about the dream. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest as he listened. He didn't interrupt once.

"So, do you think that's why there's a spirit here?" Naru asked after I was finished.

I was silent for a moment as I remembered the weird feeling I'd had during the dream. "Well...no, actually," I said quietly.

Naru looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. "And why is that?" he questioned.

"I don't know," I said, staring out into space. "But for some reason...it felt fake. It almost seemed like...it was made up. Like somebody was trying to give me a false lead or something."

Naru was silent for a moment. "Interesting," he murmured.

"Well, good evening!" a bright voice suddenly said.

Naru and I looked to the side and saw the owner Minori Sasakistanding there with a smile on her face. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a bun, and her gray eyes were shining warmly. "Taniyama-san, dear, how are you feeling?" she asked kindly.

"Oh, I'm feeling fine right now, thanks," I lied. In actuality it felt like a woodpecker was living in my head.

"That's good to here," she said. She turned to Naru. "And how is the case coming along, Shibuya-san?"

"It's going well," he replied. "I doubt you and the girls here will have to worry much longer."

There was a spark of something in her eyes. It must have been excitement... "Really?" Sasaki-san said. "That's good to hear. Keep up the good work!" She smiled once more before walking away down the hall.

"I know you lied, Mai," Naru said to me. He gave me a hard look.

I sighed. "Okay, fine! I'll go back to my room!" I stood up from the chair and waited for a moment to let the spinning pass.

"You're not supposed to be walking, Mai," Naru pointed out.

No way, no _way_ was I going to let him carry me. Me and my stupid mouth! Why, oh why had I had to tell him that I loved him?!

"It's okay, I'm fine! I can walk just fine!" I said quickly. I tried to speed walk, but I didn't get very far before my head was hammering and my mind was spinning. I sat on the floor and put my head between my knees.

"See?" Naru said pointedly. "Why are you so stupid?"

"I'm just dizzy; it'll pass. Go away, I can get back myself!" I said stubbornly.

I heard Naru sigh in annoyance, and suddenly he'd slid his arms under my knees and around my shoulders and hoisted me up. He began walking slowly down the hall, as if he was being careful.

"Hey! Put me down!" I objected. "I can do it myself!"

"Obviously, you couldn't," Naru countered. "Stop being stubborn."

My cheeks got hot, and I closed my eyes. "Jerk," I muttered.

"I could've just left you there," he pointed out.

I fumed in embarrassment. "You should have!"

"That wouldn't be very nice, now, would it?"

I grit my teeth and ended up wincing. "Since when do _you_ care about being nice?!"

"I'm being nice right now and you're displeased by it? Normally you'd be in my face about it. You should make up your mind, Mai." He sounded smug.

"Urgh!" I yelled in frustration. "Why are you so _annoying_?!"

Narureached my room and edged open the partially-closed door with his foot. He set me down carefully and moved to sit on the chair.

"Wait a second! I thought Ayako was watching me right now!" I said shouted.

Naru sighed impatiently. "We're taking turns watching you, remember? It's my turn right now."

I turned on my side so that Naru couldn't see my flushed cheeks. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but I was too tense.

"Tell me something, Mai," Naru said after a moment.

_Oh no._ "What?" I asked.

"Are you embarrassed because of what you said to me?" He sounded as calm as ever.

I clenched my hands into tight fists. "I'm not embarrassed!" I protested.

Naru was silent. He knew I was lying; I could tell.

"It's not something you need to be embarassed about, Mai," he said, for once sounding gentle.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" I snapped, turning over to glare at him.

"I'll leave that to you to figure out." He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

After a moment, I turned back onto my side and closed my eyes. What _had _he meant?

--------------------------

Okay. This was hard to write! *wrings hands nervously* Hopefully Naru was in character!!! Read and review, please!!!


	10. Attacked

Woohoo!!! Oh my gosh, I'm having so much fun with this! The reviews make me so happy!!! :D

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

----------------

I woke up suddenly, jerking and snapping my eyes wide open. Something was going to happen; I could feel it.

I carefully turned my head to look at Naru and noticed that his eyes were closed. Was he sleeping?

"Naru!" I hissed to him. "Naru!"

His eyes opened instantly, and he looked over at me. "What is it, Mai?" he asked, perfectly awake.

"Something's going on!" I said to him, my voice shaking.

"Like what?" he asked, staring at me seriously.

"I don't know!" I sat up, my thoughts whirling frantically. What was wrong?! I put a hand to my head as it began to throb at my upright position.

There was a sudden moment of complete silence, and then there were voices echoing through the room. "She's coming! You're next! Run!" I heard.

I let out a squeak of fear and lurched back onto the heel of my hands. "Did you hear that, Naru?!"

"I didn't hear anything," Naru replied, starting to stand up.

Screams suddenly tore through the air, cutting deep. I froze in place, chills crawling up my spine as my heart pounded in fear.

"Do you hear _those_?!" I asked desperately.

"Yes," he said tensely. "Stay calm, Mai."

I covered my ears, trying to block out the horrifying screams. "It'll be okay, Mai," Naru said, looking over at me.

Suddenly, the screams cut off. In the abrupt silence, I felt cold air flood into the room. _Oh, crap._ "She's here," I whispered, fear freezing me in place.

"What?" Naru asked, almost sounding confused.

Pain, worse than before, suddenly ripped through my chest. It spread through my whole body, gripping me in a horrible, painful lock. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. My lungs ached for oxygen, but I couldn't breathe.

"Mai?" Naru asked, taking a step in my direction.

"Stupid girl!" the horrible raspy voice snarled in my ear. "Good girls obey all rules!"

Then an unseen force flung me backwards to the wall. My back slammed against the plaster and my already-injured head snapped painfully against the wall. I fell to the floor and couldn't even gasp for air.

"MAI!" Naru yelled, running towards me.

My heart throbbed painfully, and my head felt like it had been hit with a few bricks. I still couldn't breathe, and I felt myself getting light-headed. My vision completely blacked out, and Naru's voice faded away. Suddenly, everything cut off...even the pain.

***

Alarm pierced Naru's heart and stopped it for a few beats. He knelt down next to Mai and felt for a pulse at her wrist as he speed-dialed Lin-san.

"Naru? What is it?" Lin-san asked as soon as he picked up.

"Lin! Call an ambulance _now_! Mai's hurt!" He snapped the phone shut, not waiting for an answer. There was no pulse in Mai's wrist.

"Come on, Mai!" Naru snarled, fighting against panic. He started CPR; trying to restart her heart.

"MAI!" Bou-san yelled, running into the room. He saw Naru performing CPR, and his heart nearly stopped. "Dammit!" he gasped.

_Come on, you damn idiot! _Naru thought frantically. _Breathe!_

"The ambulance is on its way!" Ayako yelled, running in. When she saw Mai's limp body on the floor, she clung to Bou-san's arm in shock.

"Come on, Mai!" Bou-san yelled desperately as Naru checked for a pulse again. To his horror, there still was none.

The wailing of the ambulance suddenly pierced through the walls. Not wasting a second, Naru scooped Mai up and ran past Ayako and Bou-san. He pushed his way through the crowd of girls that had gathered outside the room. "What's going on?! What's going on?!" they screamed.

"Hurry, Naru!" Bou-san screamed as they pelted after him. Ayako was unable to speak through the tears of fear suddenly streaming down her face.

_You moron! Why do you always have to get yourself into trouble like this?! _Naru thought angrily as he stared down at Mai's pale face. He nearly collided with the EMTs with the stretcher, he was so distracted.

"Don't worry, sir," one of them said. "We'll take it from here."

Naru handed her to one of the men and they laid her out on the stretcher. He fought against the urge to yell at them to go faster.

"You better go with her, Naru," Lin-san said from behind him.

Naru didn't look back at him to nod or anything. He just ran out with the EMTs and tried to calm himself.

_We should have tried harder! _Naru thought furiously. _We should have tried harder to protect her! _For once in his life, Naru couldn't control his emotions and didn't know what to do.

----------------

Okay. This had me tense the whole time!!! Is Naru okay??? Too emotional??? READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!!!!


	11. Worried

Once more, thank you for all those heart-warming reviews!!! :D Already to Chapter 11, dang it! It's almost done! I'm gonna miss it! :`(

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

-------------------------

"Mai," somebody said to me. It sounded like Gene, now that I could distinguish the differences between his voice and Naru's.

I opened my eyes and found myself in a black abyss. All around, there was nothing but darkness except for where I stood and where Gene stood.

"Gene? Are you here to help me?" I asked, standing up.

"In a way," he replied. For once, Gene's face was grim and sad.

"'In a way'?" I repeated in surprise. "What could be different than how you normally help me?"

Gene sighed and closed his eyes for a second. "I'm afraid I'm not here to guide you through your dreams."

I blinked in surprise. "Huh? Then what are you here for?"

There was silence as I waited for Gene to reply. The black abyss swirled around us, nothing else visible as far as I could see.

"You're dying, Mai," Gene finally said. He sounded reluctant.

"What?!" I gasped. "How?!"

"The entity made your heart fail," Gene said in a quiet, solemn voice. "And you hit the wall pretty hard."

I put a hand to my head, the confusion making me dizzy. I noticed that all my pains were gone for now. Gene was quiet and let me think for a minute.

"So," I said when I could finally talk again. "How are you here to help me?"

Gene sighed again and folded his arms. "You have a couple of choices here, Mai."

_Choices?_

"The first choice, is that you can accept the fact of passing on," he stated.

I opened my mouth to object, but Gene raised a hand to stop me.

"If you choose that, you _will_be stuck in the orphanage for a while. Most likely, though, Naru will fix the problem and then you will be able to move on peacefully. You would even get to see your parents again."

That froze me in place. For years, I'd wanted nothing more than to see my parents again; to talk to them, to be with them... Just imagining it seemed crazy!

Yet imagining it...filled me with a joy so intense I almost agreed right then.

"What's the other choice?" I asked hesitantly.

"The other choice is that you return to your mortal body, which doctors are trying to revive right now."

Did I really want to return to all that craziness, though? Did I really want to go back to homework, school, and getting attacked by ghosts? I closed my eyes, thinking hard.

"If you return there," Gene said quietly, pulling me back to the present. "You will return to your friends, your job at SPR...and Naru."

I looked at Gene gloomily. He well knew how I felt about Naru; why did he have to pull that one on me?

"But Naru doesn't feel the same way, Gene," I reminded him softly. "No matter how much I wish it, he never will."

Gene stared at me evenly for a few moments, then he turned his back on me and began walking. "Come here," he called over his shoulder. "I need to show you something."

I followed close behind him, and soon we stepped into light. It was so sudden, I was blinded for a moment.

"Look around you, Mai," Gene directed.

I looked around, and was startled to find myself in a hospital waiting room. I began to ask why we were here, but then the words caught in my throat. There, sitting close together in the waiting room, were my friends.

Bou-san's eyes were red and blood-shot. He'd obviously been crying. Ayako, who was sitting next to him, had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. Her closed eyes were swollen and red. She had been crying, too. Masako was next to her, her pale eyelids closed and her head in her hands. John was sitting next to her, and he appeared to be comforting her. Like most of everyone else, his eyes were red. Lin-san, who was sitting a few seats away from Bou-san, had a slight frown on his mouth.

Seeing them all like that made me want to cry. Did they care about me that much?

Then I saw Naru. It took me a moment to process his expression, but it made my heart stop.

At first glance, Naru looked absolutely furious. His hands were clenched together so tightly his knuckles were white, and his chin rested on his knuckles. The corners of his mouth were turned down into a scowl, and his eyes burned.

Looking closer, though, I realized something. Yes, his eyes _did _have anger in them, but I also noticed _panic_. For once in my life, I saw Naru worried.

My breath caught in my throat. I moved my hands to my mouth wordlessly. It was _this bad_???

"You're in the ER just a room away," Gene said quietly.

Tears filled my eyes as I was presented with the most difficult position in my life. What was I supposed to do? If I died, I would probably get to see my mom and dad and again. But if I left, I'd have to leave Naru.

I wanted so badly to return there...to my friends and to Naru..._especially _to Naru. But if I did, wouldn't that be like not caring whether or not I ever saw my parents again?

Gene watched silently as I stood there, tears in my eyes, and fought to make the most difficult decision in my life.

-------------------

Okay, hoped you liked it!!! And yeah, in case you probably figured out, Mai knows about Gene in this. Also, this had NO religious theme WHATSOEVER. It was PURELY FICTION!!!! Okay, so that in mind, read and review, please!!! And sorry for the cliffhanger!!!


	12. Confused

Thanks for the reviews, everybody! And just to clarify something that someone was pointing out, the doctors were trying to keep Mai's heart going in the last chapter. It would beat unevenly and stop, so they had to keep working. Thanks for pointing that out to me, a couple of you!!! So, with that said, I'll take a deep breath, and give you probably the most difficult chapter of all. :) Sorry about the wait; it was so hard to write!!!

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

-----------------

The first person I saw when I opened my eyes was Naru.

He was sitting on an uncomfortable chair beside me, his head leaned back against the wall. His breathing was deep and even, and his eyes were closed. I could tell he was sleeping. I felt a stab of guilt as I noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

Everybody else--except Lin-san, once again...he was probably watching base--was sleeping and laying in various positions in chairs lining the wall opposite me. I must have worried them all so much.

I shifted and moved my _very_ aching head to give the heart monitor a glare. At the moment I wanted to throw something at it and shut the thing up. I also wanted to yank the annoying IV out of my arm, because it was freaking _uncomfortable_.

I let out an irritated gust of breath and turned to look at Naru again. The room was so dark, it took me a moment to realize that his midnight-blue eyes were open now.

When I met his gaze, he froze for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Mai?" Naru said quietly.

I looked at him closely, not saying anything. How was he going to react?

"How do you feel?" he asked. His tone was still controlled and vague. How was he really feeling?

I was silent for a moment, assessing my various aches and pains. "Pretty crappy," I finally replied in a hoarse voice.

Naru didn't say anything to this; just held my gaze. What was going through his head?

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

"Two days."

For a moment, I thought he was just going to continue looking at me with his unreadable expression, but suddenly he broke...just like when I'd been with Gene in the waiting room; just slightly different. Just like before, he would have appeared furious: face livid, eyes burning. To me, who'd seen this expression once before, could tell that that wasn't the case--that he was upset.

"Two _days,_Mai!" Naru repeated, his eyes blazing icy fire. "Do you have any idea how _furious_ I am?"

I looked at him, startled and confused. "Huh? What did_ I_ do?"

"You may do a lot of stupid things, Mai, but it's not _you_who I'm angry with!" Naru snapped. His voice was still low, and still no one else was up. He folded his arms across his chest.

"Then what are you mad about?" I whispered.

"I'm mad that we let any of this happen to you! I'm mad that we let you go there at all!" He closed his eyes and scowled. "I'm mad that we couldn't do _anything_ for you!"

"Naru, you couldn't have done anything," I said, my voice still weak and tired.

Naru's eyes snapped open and he glared at me. "There could have been!" he snapped. "At least _something_ could have stopped _this_--" he waved a hand around the room, "--from happening! At least something to keep from getting to the point where I couldn't do _anything_!"

Hopefully a nurse wouldn't come to check on me anytime soon--they might call security on Naru if they thought that he was angry...which they probably would.

"Naru, since when do you think you couldn't have done anything anyway?" I asked.

Naru looked at me intently. "Mai," he said, his voice going very low. "Your heart had stopped. No matter how strong of supernatural powers I have, there's nothing I can do to help that...not when CPR fails." He closed his eyes once more and took a deep breath through his nose.

My heart lurched as I realized that, technically, I _had_ been dead for at least a few moments. I was just glad that I'd been able to make a choice on what happened to me.

Naru was tense, with his mouth set in a hard line and his shoulders rigid. Gene had told me that I'd been _dying_, but he hadn't told me that my heart had completely stopped. No wonder everybody had been so upset.

_Wait. CPR?!_ I felt myself blush, and the damn heart monitor picked up a little bit. Where was a heavy book when you needed one?

Naru looked up, his brow creased for a moment, before it smoothed over and he gave a small, Naru-ish smirk. "Are you embarrassed again, Mai?" he asked.

"Huh? No, no; not at all!" I said quickly.

"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Then, so fast that I could hardly react, he leaned over and kissed me.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Mai," Naru murmured in my ear.

He sat back in his chair, and I was frozen in shock. "W-w-what was that for?" I stuttered, unable to form coherent words.

Naru sighed impatiently. "If you're still too slow to figure it out, it's not my problem. Maybe you will eventually."

I stared at him, an impossible suspicion forming in the back of my mind. Then, before I could voice my thoughts out loud, Naru spoke up just loud enough so the others could hear.

"Bou-san, Mai's awake," he called over to the monk.

Then everybody was awake.

-------------------------

Ooooookay. That chapter took forever to write! Sorry about that! I sat for 15 minutes at a time, I swear, trying to think of what Naru was supposed to say and what Naru was supposed to do! *sigh* It's very hard keeping people in-character! Well, as always, read and review, please! :)


	13. Explained

Aw, I feel abandoned! T-T Not many reviews on the last chapter...must be summer vacations! Maybe I just have no life... :D But thanks to those who did review!!!! Sorry about the wait on this one, too....I guess I was just slacking... :D

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

----------------------

After a VERY tearful, happy-huggy-time reunion, Bou-san brought up the mystery of the attacks.

"I'd just like to know what the haunting is about," he said seriously. "And I want to know what that sentence 'Good girls obey all rules' has to do with this."

I shuddered when I heard the sentence come from his mouth. It brought back eerie memories.

"I think I can help you with your confusion, Bou-san," Naru said.

Everybody gasped and looked at him. "What?!" Ayako yelled. "Why didn't you tell us _sooner_?!"

"I just barely pieced it together," Naru explained. "There's no need to yell."

Ayako huffed and sat down. I stared at Naru, curious and waiting for his explanation of the case's events.

"The culprit," Naru said, "is Minori Sasaki."

My jaw dropped. "_What_?!" I exclaimed.

"That's impossible, Naru!" Ayako shouted. "We've hardly seen her this entire case!"

"Calm down, Matsuzaki-san," John said nervously. "I'm pretty sure Shibuya-san can explain it to us."

"What's your evidence, Naru?" Bou-san asked, bewildered.

Masako stayed silent, but her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Naru waited for them to quiet down, then turned to Bou-san. "Our evidence is right in front of us, Bou-san."

"It...is?" he said in confusion.

"Yes, it is." Naru turned to look at me. "Because Mai is our evidence."

Everybody turned their heads to look at me. "Huh?" everybody said after a stretch of silence as they tried to figure it out.

"While we were waiting for Mai to wake up, I came up with a theory. I called Lin to have him do some research, and he found some old newspaper articles for this city that talk about a woman with amazing psychic power. The woman in these articles was named Minori Sasaki."

I looked around, and everybody still had looks of confusion on their faces.

"In one of the articles, it said that Sasaki-san became very self-confident in her power. She began to do great things for the city, and her confidence kept growing. She eventually convinced herself that if she became a 'ruler' of Japan, she could even take on the entire world."

Ayako gave a snort. "Typical," she muttered.

Naru glanced at her impatiently and continued. "Sasaki-san rallied people together; brought them to her side of things. They thought up an elaborate plan to overthrow the Japanese government, but were stopped when the government found out about it. Sasaki-san was sentenced to twenty years in prison."

"Didn't she just escape using her powers?" I questioned.

Naru sighed. "Mai, Sasaki-san wasn't the only person with psychic ability."

"Oh. So somebody else with powers like her watched her?" I asked.

Naru ignored me and didn't reply. "After she got out, it's not surprising that she still hard feelings toward the government. The orphanage must have been her way at getting back at them...her secret way of hurting people of Japan and having her own little place where everybody would obey her."

"Why didn't she just try taking over Japan again?" I asked him.

Naru glanced over at me, looking annoyed. "Mai, not a lot of people would have wanted to listen to someone who was previously in jail. She wouldn't have gotten far on her own, either."

I huffed. Why did he always have to act like I was an idiot?

"I suspect that Sasaki-san knew that one day she would run out of power, so she made some sort of seal in the orphanage that took most of her power. As long as she is in the orphanage, she can do whatever she wants to the objects and people in it," Naru concluded, leaning back against the wall.

We were all quiet as all of the facts sunk in. "So...what does Taniyama-san have to do with all of this?" John asked after a few moments of silence.

"When a girl from the orphanage came to the office with the case, Sasaki-san panicked," Naru began, not pausing for a second. "She quickly disposed of the girl who had contacted us as punishment, then found out Mai's name. She dug around and found Mai's address, and with the little power she had left, she disguised herself as a government official and came to snoop around the office to see if I had a weakness--something that she could maybe use or do that would stop me from taking the case. And, to her luck, she found out that her disguise and excuse had worked perfectly to her advantage."

"Why?" Bou-san asked.

Naru looked up at me. "Because she found Mai to be the weakness she was looking for." His voice remained steady, even--not embarrassed or pausing in the least.

There was silence for a few moments. The air was crackling with tension, and I was frozen. Had he just confessed that he loved me?

Then everybody reacted. John's jaw dropped, Bou-san began laughing, Ayako smiled mischievously, and Masako looked stricken. Her eyes were wide, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"So, tell us Naru," Ayako said slyly, "when did it start? Have you known it all along?"

Naru sighed. "Matsuzaki-san, it's not my fault that nobody will date you. If you need to bother someone because of that, please bother somebody else who actually wants to be bothered."

Bou-san began to laugh harder, holding his stomach as if he was in pain. He looked like he couldn't breathe, he was laughing so hard.

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID MONK!" she screeched, beginning to beat him with her purse. He began to let out a mix of yelps and guffaws.

I clamped my lips together tightly to keep myself from laughing out loud at Ayako and Bou-san. Why did they always have to be so amusing?

"If you want to kill Bou-san, Matsuzaki-san, please do so somewhere else. Otherwise, stop making all that noise so I can finish my explanation," Naru said coldly.

They shut up almost instantly. Bou-san silenced his laughing and began rubbing his sore spots. Ayako, somehow still managing to look dignified, sat back on her chair and folded her arms.

"Sasaki-san hoped that taking Mai would make me want to quit the case," Naru started again. "Obviously, she was wrong, so when we arrived there she injured Mai in the hopes of warning us or distracting us."

I reeled back in shock. Was she really that desperate for control?!

"When that didn't work, she eavesdropped on us at some point and found out about Mai's prophetic dreams. While Mai was sleeping, she sent her a false dream, hoping it would send us in the wrong direction. Unfortunately for her, Mai knew it wasn't real, and told me about it in the hall. Sasaki-san came and talked to us after we were finishing up talking about her dream, so she must have heard that Mai knew it was wrong."

Bou-san gave a heavy, bleak sigh. "Which resulted in her taking a last resort: killing Mai and hoping that we would leave."

Naru nodded grimly. "Exactly."

"So...how do we get rid of the seal that she made in the orphanage?" I asked. "I don't want anymore girls getting hurt or killed because of her."

Naru looked over at me. "We'll have John do an exorcism, and then we'll have to burn the building down."

----------------

Okay, hoped you liked it! ^-^ Read and review, please!!! Oh, and I hope I spelled Ayako's last name right! Please tell me I did!!!


	14. Defeated

Oh, this is almost the last chapter!!! I'm so sad!!! T-T I've deliberately been slacking because I don't want to let it go just yet.... Once again, wonderful reviews!!! Thank you!!!

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

"We'll have to use extreme caution while doing this," Naru warned as the SPR team--excluding Ayako, who had stayed with Mai--pulled up at the Minami Home for Orphan Girls. "If Sasaki-san suspects anything while we are inside, she can do just about anything to us. We'll have to get Sasaki-san and the girls out of the orphanage so that John can do a quickly exorcism, and then we'll burn the house."

"Shibuya-san, do you know where the seal is?" the priest asked. "For the exorcism to be successful, I'll need to do it right at the seal."

"I'm positive it's in the basement," Naru replied.

"Right." John nodded.

"Hey, Naru, why do we have to get Sasaki-san and the girls out of the orphanage _while_we're doing the exorcism? Wouldn't it be easier to get them out before we burn the house down?" Bou-san asked, staring out the window at the huge building.

"Sasaki-san probably has hidden cameras or sensors that tell her if somebody goes into the 'forbidden' areas," Naru said, opening the door. "The basement is one of them, so John would be harmed immediately if we didn't. Also, Sasaki-san could harm the girls inside if she thought it would get us not to do anything more. She still needs to keep up her facade as the innocent orphanage owner, so she doesn't have a reason to object to our directions."

Bou-san gave a gusty sigh. "Okay. This is heavy."

Masako remained silent as she listened to everything. She was still in shock from Naru's confession, and she was a little pale.

The team got out of the van and headed back into the orphanage. Masako and Bou-san went off to get the girls (and Lin-san) outside while John went to get changed into his robes and Naru went to talk to Sasaki-san.

Naru found the middle-aged woman in her office on the main floor. "Sasaki-san, do you have a moment?" Naru asked her from the doorway.

"Of course, Shibuya-san!" she said with a bright smile. She put down the pen she'd been holding and stood up. "Is there something you need?"

"I need you to step outside with me for a few minutes," Naru said.

"Yes, of course!" Sasaki-san said, a confused look coming over her face. She followed Naru down the hall, and noticed that Kaori Tai, the secretary, was gone.

"Um, where's Tai-san?" she asked.

"She will be joining us," Naru replied indifferently.

They continued down to the front room, where Sasaki-san found a steady stream of girls heading out the front door. She stopped in her tracks. "What's going on?" she asked warily.

"It's just part of the procedure, Sasaki-san." Naru looked back at her, trying to hide the hatred in his eyes.

They waited for a few minutes, and finally Masako brought up the rear of the girls.

"Is that everyone?" Naru asked the medium.

"Yes. Everyone is here," Masako replied. She looked at Naru steadily.

Naru didn't acknowledge this, just turned away. Masako held back a sigh and trudged out the door. Really, though, if she thought about it, there was someone else that mattered a whole lot more to her than Naru now.

"Come on," Naru said, heading towards the door.

"Why?" Sasaki-san asked, her eyes beginning to harden. "I want to know what you're doing right this instant."

Naru sighed. "Sasaki-san, we're just trying to cleanse your orphanage."

Sasaki-san was silent for a moment, her eyes unreadable. "How's your little _assistant_, Shibuya-san?" she asked finally, her voice cool and dangerous.

Naru turned fully around to give her a full-out glare of hatred. "Sasaki-san, _Nazuka-san_, whoever the hell you are, I suggest you step outside before I have to result to violence."

Sasaki-san gave an evil smile. "And I suggest to _you, _Shibuya-san, that you should let the girls back in here and abandon your case before _I_ result to violence."

Naru narrowed his eyes at her. "If you want to try, go ahead, Sasaki-san."

Sasaki-san suddenly froze, her gaze going beyond Naru. Naru knew before he turned that she'd seen John in his priest robes. John froze, bible in one hand, holy water in the other, at the top of the steps down to the basement.

Sasaki-san's face began to twist in anger. Before she could do anything, though, Naru flung a chair at her with his powers. "Go, John!" he yelled. John flew down the stairs, disappearing from sight.

"Very impressing, Shibuya-san," Sasaki-san snarled, pushing herself to her feet. "You have *P.K.S.T. But you'll need a lot more than that to defeat me in _this _house."

Naru stayed silent. If she wanted to think that's what he had, she could.

Naru was suddenly flung across the room and landed on his back just barely inches from the wall. He grunted as the air rushed out of his lungs.

"Do you want to rethink your answer, Shibuya-san?" she asked, laughing maniacally.

"Why don't you just kill me or hurt me like you did to Mai?" Naru growled, coughing and pushing himself to his feet.

"That doesn't work with anyone _but_the girls!" Sasaki-san glowered at Naru in annoyance.

Naru sent a VERY large vase of flowers sitting on a table flying at Sasaki-san. "Why not?" he asked as she barely dodged the vase, which shattered against the far wall. She didn't have time to miss the table that had been following close behind, though; it clipped her in the shoulder.

"Because," she said through gritted teeth. Naru was flung backwards again, and he landed on a dresser, knocking the picture frames and porcelain figures off. Everything broke into thousands of fragments of pieces on the floor. "I just directed the seal to use that effect to residents here."

"I knew it," Naru said, pushing himself off the dresser and sending it flying across at her. "There's nobody else in the world that could have a brain that works like mine."

Sasaki-san gave a yell of anger, but she didn't have time to throw Naru backwards again. Things began flying at her right and left, and she couldn't concentrate.

John appeared at the top of the stairs again. "Shibuya-san! It's done!" he shouted to him.

Naru stopped throwing things to let him pass. "Hurry, John!" he ordered.

John ran past him and out the door. "Hurry, Shibuya-san!"

Naru stood there for a moment, then slowly walked over to Sasaki-san. She was knocked out on the floor. He picked up her arm and dragged her out the front door.

Everybody was pressed back as far as possible in the driveway. Naru dragged Sasaki-san to the very end and dumped her there. The girls and the secretary watched on in bewilderment.

"What happened to her?" Tai-san asked in alarm, taking a step toward her boss.

"She's deceived you," Naru said coldly. "She's deceived all of you. All this time, it was _her_ that was terrifying you and hurting you!"

There was gasp from the crowd of girls. "What proof do you have?" Tai-san asked incredulously. She was so shocked, it was obvious that she wasn't in on the truth.

Lin-san handed her the old articles about her, and she began skimming through it, her expression dropping. She had nothing to say.

"If you would, Bou-san." Naru looked at him.

Bou-san nodded grimly. "Right, Naru." He pulled a packet of matches out of his pocket, struck one, and threw it into the house. A tiny flame caught on the rug in the main room, and it quickly began to engulf the rest of the rug and then the furniture flung about the room.

"What are you _doing_?!" a girl cried in alarm.

"Protecting you," Naru said. "You won't be harmed any longer."

They all watched silently and solemnly as the building was slowly devoured by hot, twisting flames. Orange fingers stretched toward the sky, and smoke curled upwards to cover and blot out the sun.

--------------

Okay, hope you liked it!!! ^^ Read and review, please!!! I'll hopefully have the next chapter up by tomorrow!!! Oh, and I was thinking of doing another Ghost Hunt fanfic that has absolutely NOTHING to do with this one. What do you think??? Should I????

And, as in regards to the * up there, just in case you forgot, P.K.S.T. is to move unmoving objects with your mind. Probably all of you remember that, but I just decided to put this here in case.


	15. Epilogue

WAAAAH!!!! It's the last chapter!!! T-T So sad!!!! As usual, wonderful reviews!!! Thank you for following and reading!!! It means a lot!!! ^-^ I'm so glad I got such nice, wonderful readers and reviewers (if thats even a word...^-^)!!! Hope to get your reviews in any other projects I may do!!!

*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*

---------------------

I ran a hand through my short brown hair as I set the kettle down on the stove. It had been about three weeks since the case had ended, and I had just gotten out of the hospital two weeks ago. Life had went on as normal--as if nothing had ever happened. Because Nazuka-san--or Sasaki-san--hadn't been a real government agent, I wasn't really filed as an oprhan, so I was able to return to my apartment. I returned to my job as the secretary at SPR (of course), and everything was going fine.

Except for Naru's _confession_ kept coming back to haunt me. I couldn't get it out of my head. And, to make things worse, he wasn't acting any differently than usual.

I suppressed a yell of frustration as I finished making the tea. _That's it. Maybe I should just ask him about it..._ I quickly smacked that thought away.

I walked to Naru's office, tea cup in hand. "Here's your tea, Naru!" I said with a smile, setting it down on the corner of his desk.

He didn't look up from the file he was looking at, and he didn't say a word. Yep, definitely _nothing_ had changed.

I gave an inward sigh and turned to leave, but stopped at his doorway. "Hey, Naru?" I said slowly.

There was silence for a moment. "What, Mai?" Naru asked when I didn't go on.

I almost chickened out, but I made myself go on. "What you said in the hospital..." I trailed off, thinking of how to word what I wanted to say. Naru remained silent behind me. "Were...were you saying...that you..._love_ me?"

This was met by silence. I stayed tensed in the doorway, biting my lip as I waited for his answer. _Would_ he even answer?

Suddenly, his breath was at my ear. Wow, how was he so _quiet_??? "Was it so hard to figure out, Mai?" he breathed.

I turned around to look at him, but before I could do or say anything, he leaned down and kissed and me. Every coherent thought that I'd been thinking; every sensible thing I'd been thinking to say, immediately cut off.

When he finally pulled away, I realized I was breathing raggedly. How embarassing.

Naru was smirking. Was there _ever _a situation where he couldn't smirk? "Are you still confused, or do I need to write it out in Japanese for you?" he asked.

"It's not _my_ fault my brain works differently than yours!" I huffed.

"Actually, it might be," Naru said indifferently.

I opened my mouth to protest, but then he kissed me again. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong about my brain. But, hey, why did I care? Naru was _kissing _me! Instead of being mad, all I did was kiss him back.

THE END


End file.
